Holding My Last Breath
by HugzForFree
Summary: Santana breaks up with her boyfriend claiming to not want to settle down. Only she's secretly carrying a torch for her best friend's sister, Quinn. There's many obstacles and other people in their way, can they find their way to one another? REPOST...Quinntana...AU
1. Chapter 1

**PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INTRO**

THIS IS A **SUPER** SLOW BURN QUINNTANA STORY. IF YOU DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM NOT BEING TOGETHER. THEY WILL HAVE A TON OF INTERACTION AND EVEN GET FRISKY WITH EACH OTHER LONG BEFORE ANYTHING SERIOUS HAPPENS, BUT I STRESS THE WORDS "LONG BEFORE". I MUST ALSO STRESS THAT YOU WILL NOT GET MORE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE THAN THIS GLEE & PLL CROSSOVER. SO DON'T GET UPSET WHEN NOTHING IS WHAT YOU'RE USED TO. NO ONE AND NOTHING WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE SHOWS IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM. OKAY? ALSO THIS STORY IS BASED OFF OF ACTUAL EVENTS. DON'T ASK WHO OR WHAT OR WHY BUT A LOT OF THINGS THAT OCCUR IN THIS STORY, ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE. IF YOU EVER HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY YOU'D LIKE ME TO WRITE A FANFIC ABOUT, PLEASE TELL ME ON TUMBLR: sgt-awesome. JUST NOTE THAT I WILL TAKE LIBERTIES WITH IT AS I'VE DONE WITH THIS ONE. ALTHOUGH SOME EVENTS ARE "REAL", MOST OF IT IS FROM MY IMAGINATION. FINN WILL NOT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. I HOPE YOU ALL READ THIS BECAUSE IF I GET QUESTIONS ABOUT FINN... *SIGHS. I CAN'T WRITE FINN, I'M SORRY, IT'S TOO SAD.

ANYWAY, IF YOU GUYS EVER HAVE ANY PROMPTS, I'LL DO THOSE AS WELL, MOSTLY ONE SHOTS.

SO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE. SOME CHARACTERS YOU LOVE MIGHT ACT LIKE A DICK. JUST WARNING YOU. THERE WILL BE A LOT OF SMUT IN HIS STORY, BUT IF YOU'VE EVER READ ANYTHING ELSE I'VE WRITTEN, THEN YOU KNOW I WRITE TASTEFUL SMUT : )

HAPPY READING.

THIS IS FOR YOU...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND YOU KNOW I ADORE YOU RIGHT? THIS WILL BE OUR LITTLE SECRET FOR THE WORLD TO SEE. KISSES...

LOVE DEE...


	2. Chapter 2

In the shower. That's probably where all the greatest ideas are formulated. Perhaps Steve Jobs thought of the iphone while in there. Maybe Beethoven composed Moonlight Sonata in his head while washing his hair. James Cameron could have dreamed up the indigenous blue aliens in Avatar while getting the crust from between his toes. Who knows. But Santana Lopez knows her best ideas come to her in the shower. That's why when the thought of breaking up with her boyfriend of more than a year occurred to her, she knew it was pure, unadulterated, genius. Not that the notion of breaking up with Caleb had never risen to her mind, it just never seemed like the right time to tell him she didn't want to be Mrs. Rivers. They were only sophomores in high school, yet he was talking about love, marriage, and babies. Santana was nowhere near the mind frame that he was in. Not that he wasn't a good guy, or a great boyfriend, he was, but she just wasn't in love with him. What could either of them possibly know about the subject at such a young, impressionable age? He was making plans for forever when all she wanted to make plans for was their next movie outing. Caleb was sweet, sure but he just wasn't everything Santana wanted. Especially for the rest of her life.

Breaking up with Caleb seemed to be the right thing to do. Although he took her virginity and they were practically voted "Most likely to get married", she just simply did not feel the plethora of emotions for him as he did for her. He was a friend, a confidant and she loved him as such. In love, she was not. He was more than sure of the depths of his love for his high school sweetheart. But every time she told him she loved him back, she'd be wracked with guilt, knowing she never meant it. She had to break up with him. Today. There could be no more time wasted. She could be having fun instead of being in a committed relationship at the age of 15. As she rinsed her body off with soap she couldn't help but think about the conversation that lead her to her current decision. Yesterday Caleb talked incessantly about what their children would look like. Santana wasn't an arrogant person but she knew she was what most people considered attractive. Light skin, long, dark, wavy hair. Large almond shaped, chocolate eyes. High cheek bones, thick, pink lips, and a body that people paid for, that came naturally to her. Her mother always told her she was so gorgeous because all the women in her Latin family were. She'd joke with her daughter and tell her it was a gift and a curse. Caleb was attractive as well. He was a mixture of Welsh, Czech, Swedish and Cherokee descent. His most prominent features were of his Native American heritage. His tanned complexion, dark hair, dark eyes, perfect bone structure. No doubt that the Lopez-Rivers offspring would be stunning. But who wants to think about babies in high school? Just the thought made her stomach turn as she switched the shower off and headed out her bathroom to get ready for school.

On the bus she walked past Quinn Fabray who flashed her perfect teeth in Santana's direction. Santana returned the smile and shook off her thoughts of Quinn, one of the few openly gay girls at Rosewood high. Caleb enveloped Santana in a bone crushing hug, as he always did, and she couldn't breath. She could _physically_ inhale and exhale without a problem, but her mind, heart, and soul were suffocating. Her mind was screaming at the bus driver to speed the ride up. Her heart was cringing with every squeeze and kiss Caleb gave her. And her soul was slowly slinking away, wanting nothing to do with what was about to happen between her and her soon to be ex-boyfriend. Sure Caleb was very handsome, smart, sweet, loving. But he was also possessive, over bearing, and wanted more from Santana than she was willing to give. This had to end. Today.

Santana thanked the Father, the Son, and the Holy ghost when the bus pulled in front of their school. The students filed out and made their way to the entrance. Santana pulled Caleb by his hoody towards the direction of the woods near the football field. He quietly and excitedly followed his girlfriend. Just like he always did. Santana thought he probably figured they were going to get busy like they did sometimes when they skipped homeroom. A part of her felt bad, but most of her felt relieved to be finally doing what she's wanted to do for far too long.

Once deep enough in the woods and far enough from the school, they sat on a log they'd occupied many occasions before, during happier times.

"Caleb, we need to talk." She started out, somberly.

"About what babe?"

"Us."

"What about us?"

"Uh...Caleb. Shit, look I can only be honest with you okay? You told me you want me to always tell you the truth, no matter what, so...here goes nothing. I don't feel about you...how I should." Caleb stood from the log and backed away a bit to get a better look at her. She fiddled with her fingers under his silent gaze.

"How should you feel about me?"

"The same way you feel about me. Caleb I love you but I'm not in love with you. I don't even really know what that means, but I do know my feelings aren't as strong as yours and you should be with a girl who..."

Caleb loudly interjected. "Who's you! I should be with you. You're my soulmate." Santana saw the tears he wouldn't let fall. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"See, that's what I'm talking about. I don't even know what that means. I don't know what half the things you talk about mean to me. But I do know they mean something different to you, I know we aren't on the same page when it comes to this relationship. Not anymore anyway."

"But...we were suppose to be each other's one and only. I...I love you San, please don't do this."

"This is breaking my fucking heart Caleb, I love you and I don't want to hurt you. But I love me more and I'm just not happy."

"Fuck!" Caleb's obscenity echoed through the trees. "What can I do to make you happy? You know I'll do anything, anything! Please Santana, I don't get why you're doing this, we can fix this. Whatever's wrong, I'll fix it." He pleaded. The tears he was unwilling to cry came pouring out, Santana felt rotten, but strong.

"There's nothing to fix. I'm sorry Caleb. I don't want to be tied down right now, to anyone." Santana admitted.

Anger replaced anguish on his beautiful features. "This is about Quinn isn't it?"

Santana then stood up from the log, offended by his accusation. Sure she had feelings for Quinn, and she wasn't exactly sure when they started or how she even became attracted to her, but she was. However, the dissolution of her relationship with Caleb didn't have a drop to do with Quinn or her inexplicable feelings for her.

"Did you not just hear me?" She asked with a slightly raised tone. She ran her hand through her long locks completely frustrated by the direction of their conversation. "This has nothing to do with Quinn!"

"You're not even going to deny you have feelings for her?"

"No, I'm not a liar Caleb. You want me to lie to you, that's your problem. I'm obviously fond of Quinn but one, there is nothing going on between us and two, she is not the reason I want to breakup. I just don't want to be in a relationship anymore, not with you, not with anybody."

"So this isn't about me and our relationship, this is about you wanting to be single?"

"More or less."

"So...when you're ready, we can get back together?" He asked with hope in his eyes, unfortunately, he was grasping at straws.

"No Caleb, we want different things."

"I thought we wanted each other." Caleb hung his head and wiped his eyes. "Santana, please."

"I'm sorry."

"So this is it? Just like that? We've been together since the summer before 9th grade. That's what? Sixteen months of your life I've wasted." He said with a mixture of pain and sarcasm.

"It wasn't a waste. We experienced a lot of firsts together. Our first kiss, our first time." She said softly.

He looked into Santana's eyes "I just wasn't your first love huh?" She remained silent. "You were mine." He walked away in the opposite direction from the school, drained of any fight left in him. She sat back down on the log and cried. Not because she was in pain, but because she caused his.

XXX

Last period was the best part of Santana's day. Journalism class followed by an editor's meeting promptly after school. Everyone didn't always stay, most of the time Santana found herself alone with Quinn Fabray. But she certainly never complained. All day long she waited for last period, they didn't get to talk much during, depending on the lesson plan, but she got to look at her flawless creamy skin. Her perfectly shaped pink lips. Her blonde tresses that flowed down her back. The outfits she wore were conservative and preppy, but Santana liked that she had to imagine what was under her button up and cardigan.

The day was hell and staring at Quinn while she delivered her pitch for a story on her older brother Sam, who was a junior and Captain of the basketball team, was heaven. The basketball season was a month away and she'd already interviewed half the team for the piece. Quinn's voice was smoother than silk, with a touch of smoke. Her eyes watched Quinn's lips wrap perfectly around each and every syllable, and sometimes punctuated a thought with a lick of her lips. A chill ran up and down Santana's spine every time Quinn world purse her lips then smirk. Quinn Fabray was drop dead gorgeous and she only got more beautiful everyday, but Santana would never say that.

The day from Lucifer's handbook on how to make a teenage girl want to crawl under a rock and die, was finally over. Just as expected the rest of her classmates stampeded out leaving just her and Quinn.

"You're pretty close with Sam, do you think he'll like it?" Quinn wondered as Santana looked over what she had so far.

"He'll love the article, being the center of attention, not so much. But he'll be a good sport because you're his favorite sister."

"I'm his only sister."

"So, you get the position by default." Santana shrugged. "Doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy the title." Quinn laughed and Santana tried not to melt to the linoleum floor.

"Are you okay?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You usually crack a thousand jokes while we're in here and I've only gotten one out of you."

She sighed. "I'm sure you heard about Caleb and me." Of course she heard, they were the it couple even though they were only sophomores. Caleb made himself scarce until lunch. When he returned looking glum everyone asked what was wrong. It wasn't long until almost the whole school knew about their split. The entire day was spent with Santana rudely telling people to mind their business. Caleb had no problem telling people they broke up, but when asked why, he'd just tell them to ask her. It made for quite the uncomfortable day. Santana knew this was only the beginning and couldn't wait to get home to wash the day off, but being in Quinn's presence made life livable.

"Yeah, I caught wind of that. You two were so perfect together. The yearbook committee already had a full page spread ready for you guys and it's only October."

Santana scoffed. "What's perfect at 15? Except maybe you." She didn't mean to say the last part out loud, but there are only two things you can't get back in life. Time and words.

"Excuse me? You think I'm perfect?" Santana wasn't sure if Quinn was insulted or flattered, her tone gave nothing away. Quinn was hard to read, her face never faltered from her adorable half smile and her tone was never low or high. It was like she practiced the perfect decibel.

"Look at you." She turned to face Quinn. They stood mere inches from each other and Santana tried to not become drunk from her perfume.

"Yeah, and?"

"You're like the most beautiful girl in the whole school. You dress perfect, get perfect grades, have a perfect backstroke. You have the big house with the dog and the white picket fence. What about you isn't perfect?"

"You think I'm beautiful?" For the smallest fraction of a second, Santana saw the real Quinn behind the mask she wears everyday when she asked the question.

"Yes." It was becoming increasingly difficult to form words under her intense, unwavering gaze. Not knowing what was going on behind those eyes was torturing Santana.

"Oh." Her masked slipped again but she hung her head for a moment to compose herself before looking up. "I'm not perfect Santana. And I work damn hard on my backstroke." They giggled, finally breaking the tension. "Tell me what happened with Caleb. I know you prefer Sam's company to mine but I'm a pretty good listener."

Quinn had no idea how wrong she was. Santana cleared her throat hoping it would help clear her mind before she and Quinn took a seat. She told Quinn all the details of her breakup with Caleb. When, where, why, and everything in between. She explained her need to be free but also left open the possibility that someone else could make her happy and make her feel like she didn't want to be free, but that somebody was clearly not Caleb. Two hours of Quinn listening intently and speaking up only a few times, and they were out the door. They walked side by side silently until Quinn suggested they walk to her house and Santana stay for dinner. She quickly accepted. Talking to Quinn, despite the mask, was very easy and flowed effortlessly. Santana thought about how she could listen to Quinn talk all day. The walk was a little over twenty minutes, but she didn't mind.

"Sanny!" Sam shouted as he leapt from his spot on the couch. He gave her a tight squeeze then he mushed Quinn's perfect hair, to which she loudly objected. She chased him into the kitchen and they ran around the island until she threw an apple at his head. Santana rubbed his head as she laughed and Quinn went upstairs to start on homework. Santana wasn't a bookworm like Quinn was, she just showed up to school and aced everything without barely cracking open a book. So when her choice was homework with Quinn or video games with Sam, she chose the latter.

Santana couldn't say when Sam became her male best friend forever, it sort of just happened. When she was a freshman she felt grossly out of place at a senior's party her best friend since birth, Aria, had dragged her to. Aria was smoothly flirting with a few seniors and Santana made her way to the back yard where there was a patio swing set. Sam found her, they talked forever, and have been pretty inseparable since. Santana's mom wasn't keen on her having a platonic friendship with the older Fabray, so he spent most of his time at her house. Secretly Santana wished her mom would have let up in the beginning so she could spend more time at the Fabray's, if only to catch a glimpse of her crush. Needless to say she was surprised when her mother didn't object to her having dinner at Sam's so last minute. She shouldn't have been though, her mom had grown close to Sam in the year they've been friends.

She was grateful she saw a side of Sam that probably even his sister didn't see. He wasn't a dumb jock, he was a talented athlete who was also in all honors classes. He wasn't chauvinistic, he was a gentleman who never even so much as tried to get into Santana's pants. He was a great friend and he obliterated all stereotypes about blonde male athletes.

"Wanna talk about it." Sam asked after he successfully beat Santana for a third straight game on Madden. He sat his controller down as soon as his mom called us for dinner. "We're eating in my room." He announced to the table of just Quinn and Ms. Judy. Their dad rarely made it home for dinner. A fact that only Santana knew ate away at Sam. Ms. Judy nodded her approval and we voyaged to his room and plopped down on his king sized bed. "So?"

For the second time that day she told her side of the story. She wondered if Caleb would ever tell his side or would he keep directing the masses to question her about their breakup. If he kept up his immature behavior he was going to make things very uneasy since they shared the same group of friends. Sam listened as he shoveled the spaghetti and garlic bread in his mouth. He was finished eating before she was halfway through her meal, but he didn't speak, he let her talk in between her bites. Once she was done he hopped up and took their plates downstairs, he was back in an instant.

"Sanny, if you weren't happy with him for so long why the hell did you wait to breakup?"

Great question. She could say she didn't want to hurt his feelings which was completely a lie, but that certainly wasn't the whole truth. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I didn't want to be alone."

"Shit." He thought for a moment about the heavy confession. He was more sensitive than most guys, but he was still a guy and sometimes didn't know what to say about "girl things". "Well, you're not alone, you got me." He mushed her hair like he did his little sister's and somehow, it was the perfect thing to say and do.

XXX

"Hey," Santana said as she knocked on Quinn's door. It's a little past eight and she was on her way home. She turned the knob when she heard Quinn's permission. "Thanks for today Quinn. It was exactly what I needed."

"No problem Santana." Her mask is almost completely gone. Santana had never seen her like this and an uncontrollable desire burned right below her pantyline. She had her hair in a messy ponytail and she was already in what Santana assumed were her pajamas. A simple white tank and pink cotton shorts. Her smile was wide and genuine and Santana needed to get out of the Fabray's as soon as possible. "You headed home?" She could only nod. "Okay. Well I'll see you tomorrow." She got up and gracefully strided over to where Santana stood in the doorway. She pulled her in for a very unexpected hug and whispered in her ear. "If you ever need me, I'm here, I promise."

Santana was stunned into silence, she simple nodded her head indicating she understood and turn to bound down the stairs quickly. She hopped in Sam's Dodge Ram and pulled her seatbelt on. She needed to get home quick so she could douse the desire between her thighs. The little crushed she had on Quinn when the day started had just become full-blown infatuation.


	3. KINDA IMPORTANT

Hello awesome readers who I thoroughly enjoy writing for. I'm so sorry about my absence. At first, it was to get all these Quinntana ideas out of my head, so I was taking a brief break from "Control" to focus on my multi chapter fics as well as the one shots I'm itching to write. Regrettably, I'll have to take a hiatus with no timetable for my return. For those of you who could care less, stop reading, for those of you who enjoy the stories I write and will miss them, I'm sorry. I love to write and above all else, I LOVE talking to you guys about these stories. I love this site and there are some authors that if they had to take an indefinite hiatus, I'd be upset. So for those who care, I apologize again. Sometimes luck can be bad, I've had some of that lately. My laptop (sorta) blew up, in flames...well there was smoke. Anyway it's completely fried, along with SOOOO much of my writing (thankfully not all of it) and I haven't the slightest clue when I'll get another one. NOW of course I have access to this site through my phone (hence this update) BUT writing (and editing) 5,000 to 10,000 word chapters would be SUCH a pain. Personally I think my writing would suffer because of it. If I'm going to write, I want it to be at least half way decent. I'm not the best, no, but I want what I write to at least be of some quality. SO unless any of you would like to purchase and ship me a brand spanking new laptop, this is the last time you'll hear from me, for I don't know how long. SUPER SORRY, but life happens to get in our way sometimes. Still talk to me if you like, I'll keep up with my email. Even send me prompts still because I'll be writing by hand from now on. OH that reminds me, I WILL NOT STOP writing these stories. I WILL continue on, you just won't be able to read it. The second I get anywhere near a computer, I'll update, but I certainly can't tell you when (and when/if I update, they will be sporadic). Once again, sorry. I totally love (most) you guys! I've made some awesome acquaintances because of this site (who I talk to about more than just writing but especially that), and I've garnered some loyal readers. You're freaking awesome. You inspire me and give me the courage to write my own original work (maybe one day you'll read a book I wrote). So anyway, (sorry, I'm long-winded) thanks for reading these stories and being your awesome selves. Sorry to leave you like this.

: (

-Management


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